1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to jewelry. It relates more particularly to striped metal beads for making beaded jewelry and to a method of making the beads.
2. Background Information
Beaded jewelry consists of one or more beads strung on an elongated slender support, e.g. chain, wire, string, etc. to form necklaces, pendants, earrings and the like. When the beads are of a precious metal such as gold, silver, platinum or alloys thereof, the entire exterior surface of each bead is usually of the same metal, e.g. gold, silver, etc. Therefore, each bead has essentially the same color over its entire surface area. This is because, due to the small size and round shape of the bead, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to mask the surface of the bead in order to plate or otherwise apply a contrasting color metal to the surface of the bead. Resultantly in order to provide a bead with contrasting colors, a non-metal coating of enamel, ceramic or the like is often applied to the metal surface of the bead. However when such coated beads are strung to form a piece of jewelry, the coatings tend to chip or wear away in time due to frictional contact with adjacent beads and with the wearer""s clothing, thereby spoiling the appearance of the jewelry item.
Therefore it would be desirable to be able to provide an all-metal bead which presents contrasting colors at its exterior surface.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide beads for making belts, necklaces, bracelets, anklets and other jewelry articles, which beads have exterior surfaces consisting of different, contrasting color metals.
Another object of the invention is to provide a jewelry bead whose exterior surface comprises at least two different metals which define a substantially level pattern at said surface.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a jewelry bead which presents alternating different color metal stripes at its exterior surface.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of making an all-metal bead with a substantially level contrasting color pattern at its exterior surface.
Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the article possessing the features, properties and relation of elements, which are exemplified in the following detailed description, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
Briefly, the all-metal jewelry bead incorporating the invention has an exterior surface comprising at least two different contrasting color metals arranged in a pattern which gives the bead a distinctive exterior design. When the bead is strung with similar beads to form a necklace, bracelet or the like, the plural colored metal beads combine to give the overall jewelry item a particular pleasing appearance. Furthermore, since the beads are made entirely of metal, their distinctive surface patterns do not tend to degrade over time.
As will be seen presently, the all-metal surface pattern on each bead is formed during the bead manufacturing process. Therefore, the pattern is incorporated right into the bead rather than being applied to the bead after the bead is formed. Using the method described herein, all-metal beads can be formed with a variety of different contrasting color surface patterns to suit the needs and desires of the purchasers of fine jewelry.